Today's landscape has the potential to empower consumers while radically changing the way we envision and leverage employee benefits. Government regulation, spiralling healthcare costs unattached to outcomes, big data, and a massive new generation joining the workforce are the four main factors driving the future of non-wage compensation. That future begins today. With careful consideration of these four factors, a new generation of healthy consumers is within reach.

#1 Regulation and the ACA

The passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 already feels light years away in some respects. In the brief time since, millions of Americans have taken advantage of the new baselines that the ACA set for medical insurance carriers. These include eliminating pre-existing condition and lifetime maximum clauses, covering preventive services, providing more options for coverage, and helping us get the most from our premium dollars by requiring that insurance companies spend the majority of dollars collected on health-related expenditures, rather than overhead costs like administrative, marketing, or cushy employee and client retreats.

Though the ACA is far from flawless or complete, even those politically opposed to the Act would have a hard time denying the fact that millions of Americans have gained more choice in insurance options through the creation of exchanges. More than 12.7 million are now covered on public exchanges while another eight million enjoy coverage under a private exchange.